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Rainy Day Wedding at Hotel Palomar Chicago

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Corrine and Jeremy's rainy wedding day would have tested any couple's emotions, but this couple did not let the rain get them down.  In fact, they were perfect examples of how to accept the uncontrollable, and did not let the rain, which was quite heavy at times, dampen their spirits.  They followed our typical advice for rainy days:

1. Embrace the dramatic weather and creative possibilities it brings.

2. Have indoor options for a "plan B" during your portrait time.  Corrine and Jeremy wanted to use the CTA subway for a more gritty look, and also we called their favorite museum to get permission to take portraits there.

3. Cute umbrellas brighten up any rainy wedding day, and can actually make it fun.

4. In Chicago, often you can wait out the worst weather and still find a few minutes to go outside in between waives of rain showers.  As we say, if you don't like the weather, just wait five minutes.

5. If you do get upset by the rain, allow yourself 5 minutes to pout, then let it go so you can enjoy the rest of your special day.

But, Corrine and Jeremy's wedding day was not defined by the weather.  They had a lovely modern vintage style, with the bride wearing a beautiful Pronovias wedding gown, Badgley Mischka light blue shoes, birdcage veil, and her signature white gloves.  The groom wore a J. Crew tuxedo, and bridesmaids dresses were peacock blue in shimmery satin. Their overall style was loosely based on the book and movie The Great Gatsby.

Rev. Dave Angle performed the ceremony at Hotel Palomar in Chicago, which was immediately followed by reception, catered by the hotel's Sabel Restaurant.  Alliance Bakery made the wedding cake, and Keith Davis handled floral design.

© Wedding Creativo Photography

 

Ross and Terah's Victorian Wedding Highlights

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When Terah and Ross decided to have a vintage style wedding, they indeed went for authentic.  As a historian by profession, the bride certainly knows her stuff.  And, please get ready to have your mind blown....she designed AND made her own authentic Victorian style wedding dress!  From head to toe (and um, even her knickers) all elements were thoroughly researched to accurately represent the era.  With this daunting task for the bride, the groom did a fantastic job handling much of the planning duties. The bride's mother also did amazing reception table centerpieces, each one uniquely decorated to display a variety of classical academic subjects.  More from this wedding will be featured later, but for now here are a few highlights.  Congratulations to these exceptionally creative newlyweds!

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Wedding Creativo Wedding Polaroids

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When I set up our Polaroid cameras and props at Annmarie and Kirk's wedding, I literally had FIVE SECONDS to take a picture of the table before all the kids attacked! Which is proof positive that instant cameras = instant hit at weddings, especially with kids.  It is fun to see the "wow" look on the faces of children when the print comes out of the camera, and also adults who remember using Polaroid cameras from back in the day.

We offer our collection of Polaroid cameras as a fun reception activity as an optional add on to our regular wedding photography coverage. 

© Wedding Creativo Photography

Rustic Vintage Wedding at Vivo Chicago

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Vicky and David celebrated their summer wedding at Our Lady of Pompeii Shrine followed by a cuisine-focused reception at Vivo Restaurant in Chicago.  In large part, this was a DIY wedding, with the bride going with a rustic antique vintage theme, with a semi-casual tone.  However, she also enlisted the help of professionals to help bring ideas to form, including Bridal Beauty Chicago, Windy City Limosine, and DJ Justin from Style Matters.  Fun guest activities included a caricature artist, and Wedding Creativo's Polaroid cameras.

The wedding attire and accessories were from J Crew, Anthropologie, Etsy and Tiffany & Co.  Vicky is a teacher, so there were many school and education-related details, but so much more.  For this feature, we just have to let the photos speak for themselves. 

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Premium Custom Wedding Albums Set : Flourish Embossed Black Leather

Creative Spotlight, Creativo News, Wedding DetailsWedding Creativo Photography

Michelle and Steve's wedding combined modern and classic elegance, and the wedding album set we designed for them represented their style.  They selected a beautiful embossed leather cover for all three of their albums premium flush mount albums.  At Wedding Creativo Photography, we offer couples AND their parents premium quality album options.  The album may have all matching covers, such as this set, or different unique covers may be selected for parents albums as well.  See more of our custom designed professional wedding albums at weddingcreativo.com in our Albums portfolio gallery.

Are your wedding photos still hiding on your computer or DVDs? If you are interested in our professional wedding albums services, please email us for more information.  It is okay if we did not photograph your wedding.  We also accept "outside" orders if you own high-resolution files, and your photographer granted you reproduction rights or copyright release with your files, which is fairly common, especially if your photographer did not offer any album or printing services. Email Sarah at Wedding Creativo with any questions, we are happy to help.

Perfect Perfumes for Weddings

Inspiration, Wedding Details, Wedding Ideas, Wedding PlanningWedding Creativo Photography

Whether you collect perfumes, or are searching for a special scent just for your wedding day, here are a few tips for your fragrance selection and post-wedding storage. 


Wedding Creativo's top 10 favorite perfumes for brides:

All of these wedding fragrances are equally wonderful, and listed alphabetically.  The right choice is the one that best represents your personal style and scent preference.

Burberry Body - absinthe, peach, freesia, rose, iris, sandalwood, woody cashmerean, creamy vanilla, amber and musk; a modern and crisp scent, currently very popular

Chanel No. 5 - the classic luxury fragrance, launched in 1921, jasmine, rose, iris, amber, patchouli; timeless romance

Chantecaille Vetyver - bergamot, lemon, nutmeg, pepper, musk and sandalwood; an earthy and spicy chic fragrance

Dolce and Gabbana Light Blue - Sicilian citron, bluebell, granny smith apple, lasmine sambac, bamboo, white rose, cedar wood, amber, musk; a tropical floral fragrance

Estee Lauder Beautiful - floral scents of rose, jasmine, and carnation, with fruity notes of fresh citrus, melons, peaches and plums; a fresh summery fragrance, popular since the mid 1980s

Guerlain Shalimar - another classic introduced in 1925, exotic florals and vanilla; seductive evening or autumn scent

Issey Miyake Women - blend of fresh water florals; a clean, soft and feminine fragrance

Oscar de la Renta Live in Love - sweet hyacinth, lily of the valley, orchid, sandalwood, cedar amber; graceful floral and chypre blend

Ralph Lauren Romance - rose, ginger, marigold, violet, oakmoss and musk; refined and flowery

Vera Wang Perfume - mandarin, lotus and iris; exotic and feminine

After the wedding, many women keep their perfume bottles in the bathroom, which is actually not the ideal place for storage.  The steam from the shower and inherent humidity of a typical home bathroom affects both the aroma and color of perfume. It is optimal to keep them in a in a place without direct sunlight and relatively low humidity, such as your bedroom dresser or wardrobe closet.

If you rather show off your pretty bottles, perhaps display them on a tray or in a basket that can easily be moved to a closet shelf on occasion, such as when you are away on vacation or on a long weekend.  This will help to extend the life and vibrancy of your favorite fragrances.

Revolutionizing Chicago Elopements

Creativo News, Inspiration, Wedding Ideas, Wedding Pictures, Wedding PlanningWedding Creativo Photography

In the last couple of years we've been working with more couples having weekday elopements.  Inspired by these couples, we're trying different ideas to blow away the old stereotype of "courthouse" weddings and elopements, and revolutionize this whole concept.  These kinds of weddings are not for everyone, but for those who do, we have been working on making the experience a lot more special, creative and fun.  We had a blast recently with Susan and Joseph, and this sweet ride, the Italian Fiat 500!

We'll post more from this elopement soon, but we just love this shot, and it epitomizes our quest at Wedding Creativo Photography to inspire couples who are eloping to think outside-the-box and beyond the City Hall basement court office....and have a lot more fun!

In addition to covering traditional marriage court weekday weddings, we have developed our own elopement packages that include photography and an officiant, as well as creative elopement planning.  Interested? Email us for more info.

Riverside Wedding in Geneva Illinois

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Marissa and Alex held their summer wedding in the western suburbs of Chicago, Wheaton and Geneva, where the Fox River flows through the center of town.  Marissa and Alex's wedding style was inspired by Mumford and Sons music and good old-fashioned summer fun. 

Fans of modern-vintage style weddings will have plenty to admire in the rustic, yet chic, details including a giant Ferris wheel escort card board, mason jars, rustic iron monograms, a huge ice-cream sundae, and lots old sheet music and hymnals incorporated throughout the day.  Overall, their music theme reflected the groom's background as a musician, and the bride's flair for decor, vintage collecting and design.

© Wedding Creativo Photography

The color scheme of grays, yellows and creams were fantastically incorporated into the bridesmaids mixed mis-matched dresses, as well as the groomsmens' gray suits.  The colors were also carried over into the flowers, done by Sue Peterson in Geneva, IL.

Music elements were included throughout the wedding, starting with the invitiations by Sarah Drake Design. The bride collected vintage music hymnals and sheet music to use on several wedding details, including cermony programs, birdseed holders, and later at the reception for table numbers.

Marissa enlisted the help of a family friend to minister their nuptials at Gary United Methodist Church, while Alex called on his musician friends to perform during the ceremony.  The bride walked down the aisle in a strapless Pronovias gown, accented with a shabby chic sash embellished with fabric flowers and vintage crystal and silver broach pins.

As Mr. and Mrs. made their grand exit from the church, thunderstorms started rolling in, but that in now way dampened anyone's excitement for the newlyweds!

Thunderstorms had the bridsmaids sporting these these very cute umbrellas, and provided us with an improvised fun stop at the grocery store while we waited out the heavy rain before taking portraits.

For the evening celebration at Riverside Receptions, everyone was awed by a stunning display of folksy vintage decor, which the bride collected throughout the year while planning.  Marissa got a lot of help from her great teams of professional event designers and wedding planner, M&M Special Events and Estera Events.  But the bride's amazing father is the one who made this giant Ferris wheel escort card board!

This couple does not like cake, so instead they had a huge ice cream sundae, and treated guests to old-fashioned ice-cream bar and other sweets by Cocoa Bean Fine Desserts.  It was okay for everyone to indulge since Jeff Stitely's 312 Chicago Band kept everyone moving on the dance floor throughout the evening.

See lots more from this wedding in our Featured Weddings section at Wedding Creativo Photography.

Caldwell Lily Pond Wedding and Hawaiian Theme

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Amie and Dan celebrated their spring wedding at the Alfred Caldwell Lily Pool in Chicago's Lincoln Park.  This small city park wedding ceremony had a bold black and white color scheme.  The bride and groom and an intimate gathering of guests were surrounded by the lush nature reserve surroundings, as Rev. Marian Hale officiated the ceremony. 

The afternoon reception took a more casual tone with a Hawaiian luau theme. The outdoor tented celebration included a whole roasted kalua pig, vibrant orange, yellow and green colors, and exotic hula dancing.  Guests wore casual Hawaiian theme outfits, and the bride and groom also changed into Polynesian styles for their afternoon fun.

Wedding photography by Wedding Creativo Photography ©

Sofia Vergara is engaged

Inspiration, Wedding FashionWedding Creativo Photography

We are big fans of the comedy show "Modern Family" and the funny and lovely Sofia Vergara.  Reports are out that on her recent 40th birthday, she accepted the proposal and sparkling ring from her beau Nick Leob.  Vergara always looks spectacular on the red carpet, and we wonder what she will wear on her wedding day.  Inspired by her curvy fashions, we take a look at some Hollywood glam wedding dress ideas.

Sofia Vergara is engaged

 

Wedding at Woman's Club of Evanston

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Megan and Luke held a lovely classic wedding in Evanston, Illinois with ceremony at Northwestern's Alice Millar Chapel and reception at Woman's Club of Evanston.  The area is surrounded by wonderful ivy-covered bulidings around the campus of Northwestern University, which made it a fantastic area to walk around for portraits, as well as an enjoyable stroll for guests walking from the church to reception.

Photos by Wedding Creativo Photography ©

Beauty services were by Holly Kasprisin of Chicago Bridal Hair and Makeup, using the airbrush technique for applying makeup.

Peony pink flowers with peweter gray were the colors used throughout the wedding fashions and decor. The bride found her perfect Augusta Jones gown at A'Lamour in Barrington, along with her Vera Wang flats and accessories.

The bride and groom did not want to see each other before the ceremony, so the fellas played a few hands of poker, while the gals stopped for portraits at a classic Northwestern University ivy-draped building.

After the ceremony, bridesmaids passed out bells for everyone to ring in celebration as Megan and Luke made their grand exit from the church.

Jim Bailey of J&L Catering coordinated the reception, with stunning floral work by Zuzu's Petals, and wedding cake by Oak Mill Bakery.  The bride designed several items, including escort cards, menues, photo booth cards and the table numbers.

To begin the reception, instead of traditional introductions, the bridal party borrowed photo booth props and danced a conga line into the ballroom.  That was fun!  Andre from J Maximillan Entertainment performed splendidly as emcee and deejay.

For their first dance, Megan and Luke swayed to "Lucky" by Jason Mraz.  We certainly felt lucky to have been part of this wonderful couple's wedding!

Happy 4th of July 2012

Inspiration, Wedding Ideas, Wedding PlanningWedding Creativo Photography

We are enjoying the holiday this week and taking a break from blogging, but in celebration of the holiday, we put together this wedding inspiration board for July 4th.  Also, as we focus on Chicago-made good on this blog, we would like to take the opportunity to feature W.G.N Flag & Decorating. They have been making flags and decorations of all sorts in Chicago since 1916!  We think their 8x12 inch flags shown below would make a great table centerpieces for any patriotic holiday party or wedding.  FYI, we recently started a sister blog for our event venue, Creativo Loft, where we regularly feature Chicago-made wedding inspiration at www.smallweddingschicago.com.

Great wedding moment : groom receives gift guitar

Inspiration, Wedding Ideas, Wedding PicturesWedding Creativo Photography

We are preparing to feature Megan and Luke's wedding soon, but wanted to share this sweet moment from the morning of their wedding day.  The bride Megan obviously came to know her sweetheart Luke very well during their courtship, and surprised him with a beautiful acoustic guitar as her wedding day gift.  It was wonderful to witness this great gesture of love to start their married life, and also fun to see the bride receive text messages from Luke's impressed buddies too. 

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